Astros Ace Predicted for Top Three Finish in American League Cy Young Award Voting

A Houston Astros pitcher is going to be in line for home hardware.

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The Houston Astros are embroiled in a battle for a playoff spot in the American League with their AL West rivals, the Seattle Mariners and Texas Rangers.

For the first time since June, they are not holding the top spot in the division. That is currently being occupied by the Mariners, who are a half-game ahead of the Astros entering play on Sept. 17. Houston has at least built a little bit of a buffer between itself and the Rangers, who they have taken the first two games of a three-game set from, creating a four-game lead.

If the Astros are going to hold onto a playoff spot, they will need all of their players performing up to their capabilities. One player they will be relying on heavily is starting pitcher Hunter Brown. He has had a breakout campaign and has an opportunity to cement his status as the ace moving forward.

Hunter Brown Predicted To Finish Third in AL Cy Young Voting

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His production is so good, Jim Bowden of The Athletic (subscription required) believes he is going to finish near the top of the AL Cy Young Award voting. In a recent piece, the former MLB executive made predictions about who would win some hardware this year. Brown was selected to finish third behind Tarik Skubal of the Detroit Tigers and Garrett Crochet of the Boston Red Sox.

“Crochet and Brown are neck-and-neck for the second and third spots, but neither was able to overtake Skubal this season. Brown’s 2.27 ERA is second to Skubal’s 2.26 mark, while Crochet (2.63 ERA) has a better K/BB ratio than Brown,” he wrote.

This would be the second consecutive year the Tigers' ace would win the award should the voting unfold in the fashion many are predicting. He has certainly earned it, putting together an even stronger campaign than he did in 2024, when he won the triple crown and was unanimously selected. Skubal is locked in on many ballots as the winner.

Hunter Brown Earned Award Consideration

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How things unfold behind him, however, is still up in the air. Brown will certainly receive consideration from voters to be the runner-up, and rightfully so. He has had an excellent season from start to finish.

After a brutal start to the 2024 campaign, something clicked for Brown in May. His ERA from that point through the end of the year was third best in baseball, behind only Paul Skenes of the Pittsburgh Pirates and Chris Sale of the Atlanta Braves. They won the NL Rookie of the Year Award and the NL Cy Young Award, respectively.

That is how good Brown threw the ball in 2024, and he carried that right over into 2025. He has made 29 starts and thrown 174.1 innings with a 2.27 ERA to go along with 192 strikeouts. All of those numbers are single-season bests. He will be adding to them down the stretch with at least two more starts being made.